DR. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim, director general of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has called for improved collaboration between the information and communication technology (ICT) industry ‎and the university communities to boost locally developed solutions.

Dr. Ibrahim who was contributing during a panel session at the recent eNigeria held in Abuja, said the country also requires a robust research and development (R&D) to enable the young innovators deploy solutions with global competitive edges and will serve as gauge against excess capital flight

He said that the industry must find means to balance foreign direct investments (FDI) and local content, lamenting that Nigeria has been reduced to a dumping ground for electronic equipment.

According to the DG, all ICT related FDIs imported into Nigeria are products of research and development, as no nation survives without it.

He also called for improved infrastructural growth ‎in the universities, especially laboratories to encourage innovation and designs, lamenting that most innovations depicted as locally developed are churned out by those with overseas education.

“Our office regulates this and we have seen increase in repatriation of funds by foreign companies doing business in our country. We have to find a way to balance the equation, especially to protect local investors. That is my I have been advocating that we go back to the core source of technology- the universities. The State of our universities do not encourage technological development leading to large unemployment and now Naira crashing”, Dr. Ibrahim‎ said.

He said that NOTAP‎ in its quest to tackle the challenge, developed an Annual Technical Service (ATS) mechanism to ensure local companies are short-changed by their foreign partners.

Annual Technical Support (ATS) fee – a fee between 15% and 23% of the Software License fee, commences after the first year of implementation of the agreement and lasts not for more than three years.

The NOTAP‎ DG said that the Office is working assiduously to remove barriers to ease of doing business and ensure the best brains are not lost to other countries.